Heart Shaped Bruise
by xxIceCrystalxx
Summary: "The experiment was a success.""Are we going to continue it, then?""We will.""Silly little things...they think they're free."
1. Chapter 1

"The experiment was a success."

The words fell like lead in the otherwise still air. The speaker was a short man in a white lab coat. He stood in front of a tall array of television screens, some dark, some flickering with a weak light.

A redheaded woman looked up at words. She stood and walked over to him, studying the many screens. "Which one?"

The man pointed to one near the top left. It showed a teenage girl clutching the arm of a boy about her age, sobbing into his shirt. The boy put his other arm around her and murmured something soft to her. The girl smiled slightly, reaching up to kiss him.

"Oh, that one," the woman said dismissively. "I wouldn't say that one was a real success." She gave the man a meaningful glance.

"You mean…the dark-haired boy? Oh, him." The man laughed, a short, humorless sound. "He'll return to his flock within the year. It's how he's programmed."

"If you say so…" the woman still didn't look convinced. "Are we going to continue the experiment, then?"

"We will," the man confirmed.

"Very well. I'll go tell the others." The woman swept out of the door.

The man stayed, still gazing up at the screen. He brushed his hand across the control panel, almost unconsciously. "Silly little things," he murmured to himself. "They think they're free."


	2. Chapter 2

"Max?" the hesitant knock made her jump. Next to her, she could feel Dylan silently shaking with laughter. She glared at him.

"Yeah?" she called breathlessly, leaping off the bed and pulling her shirt down in the same motion. Dylan was still laughing.

Angel opened the door. "Iggy says dinner's ready," she said, blushing. Max blushed too, thinking of what she must've heard in her's and Dylan's mind a minute before.

"Tell him we'll be right down." Angel shut the door.

Dylan's arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. "Are you really hungry?" he murmured in her ear.

"Actually, I am," she replied softly, twisting around and kissing him. It was strange. While kissing Fang had felt wild and dangerous, kissing Dylan felt so…_right. _After Fang had left, she had locked herself in her room for days on end, refusing to come out or even talk to anyone through the door. Then one day Dylan had barged in without bothering to ask if he could, sat down beside her, took her hand in his, and told her that he hated to see her like this.

It was then that she realized she loved him.

And here they were, five months later. Being with him made Max feel _complete, _his gentle kisses and touches steadily filling the void in her that Fang had left. _He's your perfect match. _She realized that the Voice had been right all along. "Come on," she laughed, pulling away and grabbing his hand. "They're waiting."

Downstairs it was the usual chaos. Angel and Gazzy were arguing…_loudly. _Nudge was screaming at them to shut up so they could eat already. Iggy was leaning against the stove, shaking his head.

"Hey, HEY!" Max yelled. "GUYS!"

The immediate silence was oddly eerie. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"They won't shut up!" Nudge whined.

"Angel took my gunpowder!" Gazzy accused, glaring at his sister.

"Did not!" she protested. "You left it somewhere."

Max shook her head. "Okay, Gazzy, we'll help you find your gunpowder after we eat," she promised. "Just stop yelling. Same goes for you, Angel. And Nudge, your screaming isn't helping, either. Now let's just have a nice, peaceful dinner without any screaming, okay?" The kids grumbled. "Good. What are we having, anyway, Ig?"

"Spaghetti," he replied promptly.

"Yum." Dylan sat down. Max followed, silently praying that nothing would go wrong.

The last thing she needed was to clean tomatoes off the walls.

* * *

"Sir?" the redhead poked her head through the door.

"Yes?" the whitecoat replied.

"The Experiments are ready."

"Very well."

He followed her down a winding maze of tunnels. Finally they reached a room with five huge vats lining the walls. The man walked to the closest one.

Suspended in the green-ish liquid was a teenage girl, maybe fourteen or fifteen years old. Her long white-gold hair billowed around her, her fair skin glowed in the faint light. Her pretty face was blank, turned slightly upward. The wings protruding from her back were pale blue, marked with the white and black stripes of a blue jay. The scientist nodded approvingly.

In the next vat was also a teenage girl. Her ebony hair was cut choppily around her face. This girl was slightly more darker-skinned than the first, though just as pretty in her way. Her own wings were gray-black, marked with the small gold, green, and dark blue stripes of a starling. The whitecoat nodded.

The next vat contained another person, slightly younger than the first two, a boy this time. His skin was dark, his black hair cut close to his skull. His wings were a million shades of brown, those of an eagle owl. Again the whitecoat nodded.

In the next tank was another girl, maybe eight or nine years old. Her skin was the color of snow, marred only by the slight splash of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She was curled in on herself, almost as if she was trying to protect herself, on her innocent face a frown. Her coppor hair swirled around her shoulders. The wings that sprouted from her back were pure red, the wings of a cardinal. The whitecoat nodded again.

In the last tank was a boy, younger than the others, six or seven years old. His skin was beige-colored, his hair dark brown. His wings were marked with the bright blue, red, green and golden stripes of a macaw. The whitecoat turned to the woman who had followed him in.

"They are ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well." The man strode over to a small key board built into the wall. He pressed one of the buttons, a small smile on his face. With a loud beeping sound, the green liquid the winged children were suspended in began to drain away.

One by one, the Experiments opened their eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

The Experiments huddled in their cage. Their eyes—bright golden, ice blue, green-silver, dark violet, hazel flecked with gold—glared at him, some with fear, some with hate. 'Now, now," the whitecoat murmured, crouching so that he was their eye level. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'll believe it when I see it," the one with white-gold hair spat. Her odd silvery-green eyes were filled with hate.

The man chucked slightly. "Well," he said, "how could I be expected to do anything to you if you don't even have names yet?"

"Names?" the dark-haired girl asked cautiously. Unlike her companions, her violet eyes were carefully guarded.

"Yes, names." The whitecoat said. He reached out to cradle the blonde girl's chin in his hand. "You…" he murmured to her, "will be Phoebe." She only glared.

He turned his attention to the copper-haired girl, who was gazing up at him with ice blue eyes filled with fear. "You…" he murmured, "will be Ariana." She didn't speak, only looked down.

He looked at the dark-skinned boy. His eyes were liquid golden. "You will be Dwayne."

He turned to the youngest member of the flock. The golden flecks in his hazel eyes reflected the weak light. "You will be Christopher, Chris for short."

"And what about me?" the dark-haired girl asked softly.

The whitecoat chuckled again. "I didn't forget you," he said. "You will be Mara."

He stood. "Mara, Dwayne, Chris, Phoebe, and Ariana," he boomed, "your training begins tomorrow." He left.

Finally Phoebe spoke. "I don't like the sound of this _training _or whatever it is they call it."

"Neither do I," Mara agreed. She twisted her fingers in her short black hair. "We've been here two weeks and they only just sent someone in here to check on us. I wonder what they were waiting for?"

"No clue," Dwayne said.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Phoebe said grimly.

"What are we going to do about it?" Ariana asked softly.

"We can't just stay here!" Chris proclaimed. He glared at his companions, almost as if he were daring them to disagree.

"What do you mean?" Mara asked, shocked. "There's no way we can outrun them."

"Um, _hello_?" Dwayne asked sarcastically. "In case you haven't noticed, we're winged mutants, here!" He rustled his multi-hued feathers.

"Dwayne's right," Phoebe agreed. "We can outfly them."

"But we don't even know how to fly," Ariana pointed out.

Phoebe snorted. "We're half _bird. _How hard could it be?"

"Okay," Mara said, looking irritated, "that's all fine and dandy, but first we have to get out of here."

Phoebe looked around. "I bet I could pick this lock." She crawled over to it.

"Good luck," Dwayne commented dryly.

Phoebe struggled and cursed for a few minutes. "Okay, I give up," she sighed dramatically, sitting back.

"Let me try." Ariana pushed the older girl out of the way. She reached out her hand towards the lock.

The _'click!' _resounded around the empty room. "How'd you do that?" Chris gasped, his eyes wide.

"I-I don't know," Ariana stammered, scrabbling backward. "I-I just—"

"That's brilliant!" Phoebe grabbed the girl in a huge hug. "Ariana, you're amazing! Now we can get out!"

"Um, think about it, Phoebe," Dwayne pointed out. "Do you really think that they'll leave us in an empty room with no guards, no alarms, no anything?"

"Hmm…" Phoebe sat back. "See if you can find any windows."

All of them looked up, gazing around the confines of the odd, circular room. "Look!" Chris cried suddenly. He was pointing at the very top of the room. There was a thin circular window that ran all the way around the room, held in place by metal stints.

"Five, ten inches tall," Dwayne guessed. "No way we'd ever fit."

"Actually," Ariana said, "I think we would. I mean, if we, like, crawled through."

"But it's still a fifty-something foot drop," Mara pointed out.

"Uh, wings?" Chris rustled his.

"Oh right."

"Okay, everyone," Phoebe said, taking charge. "On the count of three, we bust out of this cage and leap straight into the air. Then head straight for the windows and we'll try to get out of here. Leave no one behind. Got it?"

The rest of them nodded silently.

"On the count of three then. One…"

"Two…" Mara whispered.

"THREE!" Everyone shouted it at the same time. Phoebe and Dwayne lunged at the door as one. It popped open with a squealing sound of protesting metal. The rest followed in a rush of feathers.

Within seconds they were all out, hovering in the air. "Guys! Head for the window!" Mara shouted as the door banged open and a bunch of whitecoats swarmed beneath them, shouting angrily. As one, they all soared upwards, heading straight for the thin rim of glass.

"Yes!" Phoebe whooped as she reached open air. Chris, small as he was, slipped out with ease, Dwayne on his tail. Mara followed a heartbeat later, gliding gracefully on the warm air currents.

"Help me!"

The cry made them all turn. Ariana had hit the window slightly sideways, and was stuck, scrabbling madly in a desperate attempt to free herself. "Help me, please!" she wailed again.

Mara and Phoebe soared towards her. "Turn!" Phoebe panted, trying to drag her out.

"I can't!"

"Calm down," Mara murmured soothingly. "You're alright…try to fold your wings, okay?"

Trembling, she obeyed. But almost immediately she began to slip back into the room. "Ariana!" Dwayne cried in a panic.

"Grab my hand!" Mara shouted. She lunged, arm outstretched.

"No, Mara!" Phoebe cried. "You'll fall!" 

"I don't care!"

Ariana's small hand closed around Mara's. With a sigh of relief, Mara pulled her back out into the open air. The little girl wrapped her arms around the elder's neck, still shaking uncontrollably. "That was so scary," she whispered.

"You're okay now," Mara soothed. She turned to her friends. "Let's go."

Back inside the room, it was chaos. People were everywhere, shouting and yelling. From the corridor came a short man, the one in charge. "What's going on?" he boomed, reaching the room.

Instant silence. "Um…sir," one said, "the Experiments…they have…escaped."

"Really?" the man strode into the room, gazing up at the windows. "They escaped, you say?"

"Yes, sir."

The man smiled. "Perfect," he murmured.


	4. Chapter 4

"This is amazing!" Chris yelled, swooping through the air. "I love flying!" 

"Where are we, anyway?" Dwayne asked me, coasting effortlessly.

"Somewhere in Arizona, I think," I replied, gazing around at the land speeding along beneath me.

"Can we land soon?" Ariana pleaded. "I'm _starving_!"

"You're always hungry," Mara laughed, ruffling her hair. "But I don't think it'd be a bad idea to stop, Phoebe" she added to me. "We don't exactly look inconspicuous, if you know what I mean."

I cast a glance at my clothes. She was right. The standard-issue gray sweatpants and matching sweatshirt weren't exactly what others might consider normal. I winced. "We'll just have to make do for now, I guess."

I lost track of how long we flew. But eventually the ground beneath us changes from dusty sand to rich dark green, dotted with small trees and shrubs.

Mara's wail made us all jump.

My hair tickled my face as I whipped my head around. Mara's arms were wrapped around her stomach, her eyes wild with her agony. Then, as we watched, her wings folded and she dropped like a stone to the ground. "Mara!" I shouted, diving towards her. She fell into my arms, crying and writhing pitifully.

Then the screams started.

First Dwayne. Then Ariana. Then Chris. Their voices were filled with pure agony, the sound of a dying person. Multi-colored feathers flashed all around me as they plummeted towards earth. I could only watch in horror. Then…

An explosion.

Pain turned my vision blood-red. Every part of me; my muscles, my own, my very _being, _was being _tortured! _My mouth parted in a soundless shriek. I was on fire, yet I felt no blast of unbearable heat, no flames licking my skin.

The fire was _inside me. _

Everything went black.


End file.
